(Closed) How long is too long to wait for engagement session/wedding pics?

I had an e-session almost a month ago (I won’t name any names but it was a photographer that has gotten a lot of good shout-outs here on Weddingbee).

We have yet to see any of our photos from our e-session, let alone a teaser photo. Our photographer has always been late in returning emails (typically it takes about 4-5 days to get a response), so it doesn’t surprise me that I haven’t heard from her in a while regarding our photos.

Can anyone chime in about how long is too long to wait for photos? It doesn’t say outright in the contract regarding e-photos, but it does say that we would have our wedding photos within 3 weeks.

It’s just really frustrating to work with a wedding vendor that isn’t as responsive as you’d like them to be, know what I mean?

I also don’t want to make her angry or uncomfortable given that she’ll be shooting our wedding too!

Help! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, I emailed her a few days ago to ask about our photos but have not heard back yet.

I’ve been lucky enough to have an extremely responsive photographer, but our coordinator from our hotel has been less than responsive at times. After multiple e-mails were "lost" or just took way too long to send, I escalated the communication to good old-fashioned letters that I sent registered mail so a signature was required upon receipt. I think that showed her I was serious as since then I haven’t had to wait for more than a day for a response to my e-mails!

On the day of our e-pic session, our photog said it would take less than four weeks for everything and we’d get teaser pics within a few days. Reality: we never got any teaser pics and it took a little over six weeks for the finished product. He said he was just very busy that month and apologized. However, I’ve heard from friends that their photogs were able to get them the pics in two to three weeks. I guess it just depends on how well each photog manages their time.

Wow, I guess it really depends from photographer to photographer…we had all of our proofs online for us to review a week after the e-photo shoot (which was exactly what he promised). He also shoots entirely in digital which I’m sure aids in the speed.

As for how to help your problem, as with any vendor, I’d start calling if emails don’t seem to be working. And I personally don’t bother to leave messages, I just call back until I can actually speak with the person I’m looking for (which is what I’m doing right now with my hair salon, as a matter of fact…). If that still doesn’t work, move to the registered mail suggestion. But definitely try calling first.

I’d give it a little more time for your photos…. I know you’re anxious for your photos, but this is the height of wedding season now, and I’m sure her weddings have to take priority at the moment (which is hopefully a good sign when your wedding rolls around!). It’s still no excuse for not returning your emails more promptly, but some people think several days IS okay for an email return. If you’re unhappy with her frequency of communicaiton as time goes on, I don’t think it could hurt to nicely let her know that you expect a more prompt response.

Our photog said 2-3 wks but we waited 4 wks for the teasers and then 7 wks before we got all the images. I was not a happy camper since they were usually very responsive but after a couple of calls (not emails since that didn’t seem to work) to them, we finally got them. Luckily, I was not in a hurry to use them for Save-The-Date Cards or day of wedding goods. I think calling a vendor works alot better than emailing. I love their work but slightly worried about our wedding day pictures now.

I’m a full-time wedding photographer. I think four weeks is totally acceptable. Your photographer would be better off if it were sooner though. After about a month, however… You’re totally fine to email your photographer and ask what’s up 🙂

I think e-photos are not really their top priority, especially during wedding season. I know its not exactly fair, but thats the way it is. Our e-photos took probably six weeks. but he retouched and digitally edited almost 200 pictures, plus made a slideshow. It was the same time of year too. I was probably super annoying, I kept emailing them asking where they were! I wouldn’t worry. Wedding photography is a tough business, you aren’t just hiring them to take the pictures, a ridiculous amount of work goes into them after they are taken. But you can still emial them just as a nice reminder!